DUNLOP SPORTMAX Q4
PRODUCT TEST
P110
can control the handling of a bike," says
Robinson. "We were lacking a couple
of sizes—we didn't have a 180/60-17
and 200/55-17 in our line up and those
sizes are really important for European
bikes especially. The tires are a lot taller
in the center (than the Q3+). That raises
the back of the bike up, making the handling and
steering quicker without having to mess around
with suspension. Plus, having more tire on the
ground at full lean means you can get on the
throttle earlier and harder.
"The Q4 is almost a full slick," says Robinson.
"We changed the tread design to have the long
grooves down the center and we are still FIM-le-
gal in that we have 35mm between the end of the
grooves and the shoulders and we have
the five percent land/sea area we need.
But we wanted to make it as close to a
slick as you could possibly get. Bikes now
have so much horsepower with so much
technology, so we wanted to deliver a tire
that can keep up with that."
Dunlop is claiming an impressive 62° lean angle
with the Q4 on track with test rider Taylor Knapp,
as well as recording a jaw-dropping 1:28.793 lap
time on a near stock 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R at
the MotoAmerica preseason test at Barber Motors-
ports Park, putting him 10th overall on day one and
just 3.4 seconds behind Monster Energy/Yama-
lube/Factory Yamaha YZF-R1 rider Garrett Gerloff
in P1. Not bad for a street tire!
This is the bike
where the Dunlop
shined best—the
Yamaha YZF-R6—
with so much grip
on offer and the
right machine
to use it.
